Help
by GhostGirlMD
Summary: Kris Williams needs help with an abusive relationship. GHOST HUNTERS FANFIC
1. Chapter 1

Name: Help  
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine....  
Summary: Kris needs help with an abusive relationship

--

Kris Williams sat on the porch that led into Grant and Jason's new purchase, the Spalding Inn. She was waiting for her boyfriend, Todd Parker, to come and pick her up to take her home. Todd and Kris had had a very complicated relationship since the beginning. Kris knew Todd cheated on her. She knew that he had cheated on her with her cousin, Miranda, and with Brandy from the GHI team while they were in the states helping investigate a plantation. Todd wasn't the best guy in the world, but Kris didn't believe she could do any better.

She stood up and pulled her leather jacket closer to her body as Todd's truck pulled into the long driveway. She smiled at him as she climbed into the passenger seat, but, as usual, he didn't smile back. He looked at her and then at the inn and pressed his foot to the gas while muttering, "Damn ghosts. No such thing." Kris had learned to deal with Todd's skepticism of the matter of paranormal activity. She just ignored it. She had learned the hard way not to question Todd. The first and last time she had done that had been on the subject of politics and it had landed her in the hospital with a broken arm and bruises that covered her body.

"How was your day, sweety?" Kris asked sweetly.

"Fine." Todd said.

Kris looked out the window and leaned on her door. She watched as the sky turned pink and orange with the approaching sunset. She hadn't expected Todd to ask about her day. He never did. The ride back to the apartment they shared was silent. Kris fell asleep half way there and woke up when she heard Todd's door slam. He was unlocking the door when she stepped out of the car. He never bothered to wake her up.

Kris followed after him slowly. She walked in and was greeted by her black cat, Goonie. Todd insisted that Goonie was evil. He wasn't. Goonie was a good cat. To the people he liked. Which was everyone, except Todd.

"What's for dinner?" Kris asked, smelling food in the air.

"Leftovers." Todd answered.

Kris walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She looked into his dark blue eyes and cocked her head to the side.

"Whats wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. Today was long. Then I had to come pick you up from the meeting with those ghost freaks." Todd pushed her away from him and walked into the kitchen to get his plate out of the microwave.

"Don't call them freaks." Kris said softly. Unfortunatly, it wasn't soft enough for Todd not to hear. He walked out and looked at her, anger in his eyes.

"Did you just tell me what to do?"

Kris backed away from him, not in the mood for another beating. She hit her back against the wall and stared at Todd as he walked toward her, hate and disgust on written all over his face. Todd grabbed Kris's shoulders and pulled her toward him.

"Answer me, bitch." he growled.

"I'm sorry." Kris whispered. "I forgot."

Todd shoved her back towards the wall, hard enough to make the pictures shake and fall. Kris wimpered as her head made contact with the hard wall and she slid down, attempting to make herself disappear. She hated when he was like this. She hated the beatings he thought she diserved.

"You forgot? You _forgot_?! Look at me you whore!" Todd yelled.

Kris looked up at him as his foot made contact with her hip. She yelped in pain and attempted to crawl away, an attempt that she knew would get her in more trouble. He grabbed at her hair, his fingers getting stuck in her curls and he pulled her to her feet as hot tears started running down her face. She looked at him with pleading eyes. She wanted him to stop.

"When I say look at me, you better damn well look at me." Todd said as the hand that was not currently knotted in her hair, smacked her across the face.

"I'm sorry. Please, stop." Kris cried.

"You know better than to tell me to stop, Kristine." Todd said.

"I'm sorry." Kris whispered.

Todd pushed her toward the table, her backing hitting hard against it. She cried out in agony, the edge having hit a currently healing bruise from the last time her had done this. Todd loomed over her and shook his head.

"How did I ever end up with a ghost hunter? A pathetic little child that doesn't know fake from real. And those guys you hang out with only fuel the fire. I'll fix you one day. You can count on that." Todd said. He spit on her before walked out of the room.

--

TBC....

R&R


	2. Chapter 2

It was difficult for Kris to hide the bruises from the guys at TAPS. She winced when she got her usual daily hug from Tango, which made him wonder what was going on. She just laughed it off and went to go sit next to Steve to review the evidence from the last case.

"Kris, why did you _really_wince when Dave hugged you?" Steve asked, concern written on his face. Steve had never liked Todd. And the way Kris had been acting was only adding to his worries. Steve had seen Todd yell at Kris. But whenever he had tried to intervine, Kris had told him that there was nothing to help with.

"I told him already. I wasn't expecting it." Kris said, not once taking her eyes off of the veidence she was reviewing.

Steve pushed the pause button and the images before Kris froze. She looked at him, about to ask why he had done that when she saw the seriousness on his face. She sank back in her chair, her face showed the pain that coursed through her body from that simple movement, even though she had attempted to hide it. Steve put his hand on the back of her chair and said in a soft voice, "Kris, has your relationship with Todd gotten to a bad level." Steve couldn't make himself ask if Todd had her. He knew that she was in a vulnerable state right now, if that was the case. He had been a cop, he knew how victims felt. His heart almost broke when he thought of Kris as a victim.

"What are you talking about? Todd and I are perfectly happy together." Kris moved to turn th e miniDV back on but Steve caught her hand. She made a squeak that she usually only made when Todd grabbed at her. Steve backed off.

"Krissy," he was the only one she allowed to call her that. Every time Dave had attempted she had smacked his hand and called him a 'bad dog'. "what's going on? You can hide from Dave and Jason and Grant. You can't hide this from me. I've seen this too many times."

Kris didn't answer. She stood up and walked out of the room. Steve sighed and leaned back in his chair. Kris didn't go far. She simply stood outside the room, leaning against the wall. She wanted to tell Steve, she really wanted to. She knew that Steve could help her. Steve could get her out the hell she called home. It wasn't home anymore. It had been, it certainly had been, but not anymore. Todd would lose it one day and take things too far. She didn't exactly know what the too far was but she knew that it would be bad. What she didn't know was that it would happen that night.  
*Help*  
Todd had refused to pick Kris up from work that day. He had told her that she would have to walk. He had also insisted that if she got a ride home from one her 'psycho ghost friends' she would be in for a far worse beating than she had gotten the night before. Kris had considered walking home, she truly had. But as she had gotten her coat Steve had stopped her and asked when Todd would be getting there. When she had said that he wasn't coming Steve had asked who was taking her. When she told him she was walking home he had grabbed his keys and said he'd drive her home. Kris knew that Todd wouldn't like this. Out of all the guys at TAPS Todd hated Steve the most. But it was cold and Kris wasn't about to turn down the offer. It would make Steve suspect something again.

Once they were two blocks away from Kris's house she had told him to let her out.

"Why here? We're still two blocks away." Steve pointed out.

"I know. But a little fresh air will do me good. I mean, tomorrow we'll be stuck in the cars until we reach West Virginia." Kris forced a smile. She hated investigations now. She had wanted th e analysis to last longer but Dave and Steve had finished it and Jason and Grant had already reported the findings. Kris didn't want to go to West Virginia. She loved investigating but Todd always beat her worse when she came home.

"Oh, well, ok." Steve said as Kris closed the door. He hesitated but after a moment called out after her. "Krissy, if you need anything, call. Anytime."

Kris smiled and assured him she would, knowing all too well that she wouldn't Todd would kill her. Steve pulled away and Kris started walking. When she reached her block she saw Todds truck turn the corner after her. Her breath caught in her throat and she swore her heart had stopped. Todd rolled down the window and looked at her.

"Get your little ass home." he said before driving off.

Kris broke into tears. She walked home quickly, knowing that he would get angry if she took her time. She didn't want to get beat. She never did. She pulled open the door and Todd was sitting on the couch.

"What the _hell_ is the matter with you? Are you deaf? Are you stupid? Oh, why would I ask that? I already know you're dumber than shit. You'd have to be. Why else would you get _him_ to drive you home? That worthless-tattooed-ghost-hunting-son-of-a-bitch. Out of all those people at that God forsaken place you chose him?"

"He made me. I said I was walking home and he insisted he drive me home." Kris said.

"Well, maybe if he had actually driven you home I wouldn't be as mad. He dropped you off around the corner Kristine. You tried to hide the fact that you had gotten a ride from me. That was a very stupid decision."

Kris started crying again as Todd stood up. He pushed her against the door and slapped her across the face. He continued beating her like the night before. He kept muttering, "Stupid bitch" while he beat her. He kicked her and threw her to the ground. The he grabbed her by the hair and tossed her on the couch.

"I will teach you that you are mine." he growled.

And that night he did something her had never done before. He had raped her. After, Todd had left the room, satisfied with her punishment. He left Kris a sobbing, bleeding mess on the couch.  
*Help*  
TBC...

R&R


	3. Chapter 3

Jason pulled up to the Kris's house at 8 o'clock in the morning. He got up and knocked on the door. Usually, Kris would take only two minutes, if that, to come out the door and get into the car. But today, after five minutes of waiting, Jason started to get worried.

"Kris?" he called.

He knocked several more times before Kris opened the door. She smiled wearily at him. Her suitcase was in her hand. Jason's mouth dropped when he saw her face. Her lip was busted open and there was a large scratch over her left cheek.

"Sorry it took so long." Kris said. "I woke up late and had to rush to get ready."

Jason was about to ask about the injuries but Kris walked past him and got into the passenger seat. They were going to meet the other people at TAPS. Jason had decided to pick up Kris because he had talked to Steve the night before. Steve had told him about Todd not picking Kris up from work and Jason figured it was safe to say that Todd wouldn't be happy bringing Kris to TAPS. Jason slid into the drivers seat slowly and looked at Kris.

"What happened?" he asked.

Kris pretended not to hear her boss and continued staring out the window. Jason looked at her more closely. She didn't want to sit all the way back in her seat and she was sitting more on her hip than on her backside. That was a clear indication to Jason that Kris had been hurt in some sort of way and he was pretty sure he knew how she had gotten hurt. Todd.

"You gonna tell me or no?" Jason asked, not trying to pressure her into saying anything.

"No." Kris replied.

Their trip to TAPS was silent. Once they arrived and had gone into the building Kris was received by the rest of the team with looks of shock. Grant had gasped when Kris had said hello to him. Jason had looked at him and told him not to ask questions. Jason knew Kris and he knew that, eventually, Kris would tell them what was going on. Dave didn't give Kris a hug that day. He was rather afraid to. Steve barely looked at Kris before walking over to Jason and taking him to a corner.

"Take Dave with you and Grant." he said quietly.

"What? Why?" Jason questioned.

"Because yesterday Kris and I started talking and I'm pretty sure she'll talk to me if it's just me and her. You wanna know what going on just as much as I do and I know it. I'm going to figure this out. You gotta trust me." Steve said.

Jason nodded his head in agreement. Jason gave a brief explanation of the case they would be working and then, without question, grabbed Dave's shoulder and pointed him in the direction of the main car. Kris got into the tech car with Steve without any question. She had thought that Steve had talked to Jason because he wanted to be in the same car as her. She was busy contemplating wether or not to tell him what had happened when the engine started and the vibrations cause her to wince. She was sore from the night before. Once they were about twelve minutes into their drive Steve looked at Kris.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Your lip is swollen, you have a big scratch on your face, you're sitting sitting on your hip, and you refuse to let your back hit the seat. He's beating you, isn't he?"

Kris bit her lip but quickly stopped as pain shot through her. She sighed. She wanted to tell Steve, honestly she did, but she was afraid to. She finally took a deep breath and looked at Steve. Tears formed in her eyes.

"Yes." she said as sobs started rocking her body.

Steve was so angry he could barely think.

"It's not just beatings Steve. Not anymore. He raped me last night. Told me he would show me that I belonged to him. Steve I'm scared. If he can do that to me then he can do anything. I'm scared Steve. I can't go back." Kris cried.

"You're not going to go back. I promise you that." Todd had raped her? Rape? That fucking son of a bitch was sick and cruel enough to rape Kris? She was innocent and sweet. How could he. Steve knew what had to be done. After this case he would take care of Todd. And he was pretty sure the other guys would join in. They knew everything. Steve slowly took his finger off the talk button on the walkie talkie so Kris wouldn't hear the click.  
*Help*

A/N: Short, I know.

TBC...

R&R


	4. Chapter 4

The team didn't get to West Virginia until six o'clock that evening. They decided, since they were doing a residence instead on a business, they would skip out on tonight and sleep. The clients weren't expecting them until tomorrow night anyway. Kris went immediately to bed, not wanting to have any type of conversation with Steve about Todd. She knew that Todd would already be haunting her dreams, like he always did, so she didn't want to think about him any more than she absolutely had too. That left all the guys to themselves. They all got together in the room that Jay and Grant were sharing to discuss the case and, mainly, what they would be doing about Todd.

"Kris doesn't know that you guys heard about what had happened. She thinks its just between me and her. I shouldn't have done that. She'll never trust me again." Steve said.

"Calm down. Kris might be mad at first but she'll realize, eventually, that what you did was for her own good. Todd is abusing her mentally, physically, sexually and emotionally. He has all his bases covered. He's using her and she's afraid to get away. He'll kill her if she stays." Grant reminded.

Steve leaned back and felt his back hit the mattress beneith him. Grant, who was sitting with Jason on the twin bed next to him, stood up and went to sit next to Steve. Dave was sitting with his back propped against the wall on the floor. Jason looked down at him and sighed.

"This is gonna be hard." Jason said.

"Kris is going to fight it. She thinks she loves Todd." Dave said.

"We gotta save her. She's like our sister. We gotta protect her. And she said she didn't want to go back. That she was scared. You guys all heard her." Steve said.

"We all agree with you. And yeah, we heard her say that. She is going to deny, deny, deny. She's going to yell and scream that she never said that and that she loves him and she wants him back. She'll say that she can changed him and that everything will be ok. And she'll hold true to that statement until the day she dies. Which, if she stays, will be soon." Grant said.

"How do you know all this?" Steve asked.

"Reanna's sister was in a relationship like the one Kris is in. Except Mark didn't rape her."

Steve was silent. Thinking about Kris getting hurt like that. Being raped. He couldn't bring himself to think of that. Kris was like his sister. His favorite sister. Hell, his favorite sibling. He had to protect her. And protecting her meant never ever letting her go back to Todd. He had to make Todd realize that he meant business.

"Steve, you can't do this alone. You think you can. You think that you can make all this go away by yourself but you can't. Face facts, Todd is a big guy and he will not be afraid to fight back, using any means necessary. And, even more important, TAPS is a family. We're not going to let a member of our family get hurt." Jason said.

"We did. We let Todd hurt Kris." Steve mumbled.

"We didn't know about that until the ride up here." Dave said.

"I suspected! I should have done something." Steve said.

"There's nothing you could have done and there's still nothing that you can do. You can't do a thing alone. Todd will kill you and then he'll kill Kris." Grant said.

"I can take him." Steve said.

"You might be an ex-cop but might I remind you that there is an 'ex' in front of the 'cop' title." Jason said.

"I don't care."

"Steve, we're a family, just like Jason said. We're doing this together." Grant said.

Steve looked up at Grant. Then at Dave. Then Jason. They all had the same look. Commitment.

"Ok. You're right. We are a family."

"Exactly. You're the big brother, Kris is the little sister, I'm the baby brother. Jason is our dad and Grant is our mom." Dave said with a smile.

"Hey, hey, Mr. Funny Man. I'm still your boss. And I am _not_ your mom. First of all, I'd have to be a girl. Second of all, Jason and I would have had to _make_ all of you." Grant made a face of disgust.

Steve and Dave exchanged looks before bursting into fits of laughter. Grant looked at Jason, who was holding back his own laughs.

"Well, momma, discipline your sons." he said as his laughter took over.


	5. Chapter 5

The investigation the next night went pretty routine. The evidence review went by as boring as usual. Jason and Grant had one EVP to report to the clients, something that the clients convinced themselves was nothing more than their cat jumping somewhere in the house. After telling the clients that they could call anytime and TAPS would be right back out, they started heading back to Rhode Island. Kris was, this time, in the car with Jason and Grant. It had been a quiet ride, they had only been driving an hour. Suddenly, Kris started talking.

"I heard you guys. The night before the investigation. My room was right next to the one you guys were in. You guys are going to see Todd, after we get back."

Grant looked behind him. Kris was staring out the window, silent tears falling from her eyes. Grant looked down at the floor on the car then back at the female investigator.

"Yeah, we're gonna talk to him." Grant said.

"Talk? You know you aren't just going to talk Grant. If you guys were just going to talk then you would have let Steve go alone. God, that is the last time I ever tell Steve anything." Kris said.

"Don't talk like that, Kris. Steve only did what he did because he was worried and because he knew that he couldn't deal with Todd on his own. He did it for your own good." Jason said.

"No he didn't. He did it because he was mad at Todd and wanted to kick his ass. But he wanted you guys their just in case. Witnesses."

"Kris, Todd is a horrible guy." Grant said.

"No he isn't! Don't say that Grant!" Kris yelled.

Grant recoiled slightly into his seat, Kris's outburst having startled him. Jason stopped at a red light and looked back for a moment.

"Kris, we know you think you love him. But this guys is vicious. I swear we'll only go over there intending to talk to him. If he loses his temper and tries anything, I can't be held accountable for what we do." Jason said, looking back at the road and waiting for the light to change.

Kris didn't talk to any either of the guys again. She sat in the backseat, tears slowly running down her face, for the rest of the ride. Deep down inside she knew that the guys were right, that she needed to be away from Todd. She knew that she no longer loved him. She was just afraid that, after they 'talked' to him, he would come looking for her and take out his anger on her. She didn't want another beating. She wanted to be safe. She was confused when they pulled up in front of Jason's house. His wife, Kristen, was waiting outside on the porch.

"Why are we here?" Kris asked hesitantly.

"You're gonna stay here tonight. You can have Sam's old room. She moved in with her boyfriend after James was born." Jason said.

"Ah, Jason the grandpa. Makes me feel young." Grant said.

"Hey man, Connor is growing up quick." Jason pointed out.

"Yeah and if he comes home and tells me he got a girl pregnant I'll kill him."

Kris laughed slightly as her bosses bickered about parenthood. Jason had been ecstatic when he had found out he would be a grandpa. Then he had realized he was only 38 and had gotten a little depressed. Grant making fun of him and calling him 'gramps' didn't help matters. So now Jason made fun of grant for being 36 and having a 15 year old son. True, Jason did have 15 year old daughter but he seems to forget that while making fun of Grant. Kris cleared her throat softly, causing the two men to stop.

"Should I get out?" she said.

"Oh, yeah. Kristen's probably got dinner going, it's almost six. She'll show you the room and everything." Jason said.

"Yeah, I've met Kristen before." Kris said.

The enormity of the situation didn't hit Kris until she was on the porch and the guys were backing out of the driveway. Steve and Dave had parked on the curb, Jay and Grant were going to follow them to Kris's house. Kris lost all control and freaked out.

"No! No, you guys can't go. No, no please! Please stay." she started crying and Kristen had to hold her back from running at the cars.

Steve's window rolled down.

"Krissie, listen to me. We're going to talk. I promise." he said.

"No, Steve no. Don't go. Please please. Don't go. Come on, there's other ways. Please do't do this. Please." Kris fell down to her knees, Kristen still had a hold on her shoulders.

"For God's sake, drive away!" Kristen yelled.

Steve's window rolled up and Kris was forced to watch them all drive away.

TBC...

R&R


	6. Chapter 6

Name: Help  
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, I promise.  
A/N: The next chapter will be the last one. Then I'll start a new story. I'm thinking one centered around Grant... Ideas?

Steve was the first guy to get out of the vans. He stepped onto the sidewalk and looked at the house. The windows in the front were dark. But, it was night so Todd might have been asleep. He was definitely home, his truck was in the driveway. Dave joined him on the sidewalk and Steve heard Jay and Grant shut their doors. They soon joined the other two men.

"We go in and say we want to talk to him. That's how we'll start. We don't do anything physical unless he started it. And if he goes after only one of us, it's that person who fights back. We'll jump in and help but we don't want to do anything that look like we're ganging up on him. Understand? I don't want to go to jail tonight." Jason said.

"Got it. Dave, Grant, you two might want to start the talking. Todd seems to hate me and Jason more than he hates you two." Steve said.

"Thanks for putting us in the direct line of fire." Dave said.

"Any time."

Dave rolled his eyes and looked over at Grant. The older man looked nervous but determined. Together they started toward the front door. Jason and Steve followed behind them. Dave was the one who knocked and it didn't take long before Todd answered the door. He was dressed in jeans, no shirt. He was busy looking down at the newspaper and didn't notice who was there.

"There you are. Got home later than I would have liked." he mumbled.

"Oh, really honey?" Jason asked.

Todd looked up and instant hate ran across his face. It seemed to multiply with every man he looked at.

"What the fuck do you bastards think you're doing here? Where's Kris?"

"Kris is safe. She deserves a night where she can go to sleep and not worry about her safety." Steve said.

Dave cleared his throat.

"We wanted to have a talk with you." he said.

"A talk? Fuck you all. You aren't getting in my house." Todd said.

"Then we'll talk right here on the porch." Grant said.

"The hell you will." Todd slammed the door in their faces.

Steve butted to the head of the line and slammed his fist repeatedly on the door. He continued doing this, alternating between hitting and kicking, until Todd answered again. Before Todd could say a word Steve started talking.

"Now listen here you good for nothing son of a bitch, you have no damn right to treat us like we're the evil ones. We're not the ones that get their entertainment out of beating the shit out of a poor innocent woman every single night. We don't leave so many bruises on her that she can't even hug her friends or sit back in a chair. We don't toss her around like she's a doll and then rape her when we think she needs to learn something. You're scum and you don't deserve a nice caring girl like Kris."

Todd looked at Steve in shock. Then, without warning, punched him square in the nose. Steve stumbled backwards, hitting Grant and Dave, who helped hold him up. Before they could stop him Steve launched himself at Todd, making both men fall backwards into the dark house. They hit a side table and the table and all its contents smashed to the floor. Grant, Dave and Jason quickly got into the house, closed the door, and turned a light on.

Steve and Todd were wrestling around on the floor, fists flying and legs kicking. They were both yelling so much that their words became jumbled and incomprehensible. Jason pushed past the two smaller men in front of him and pulled Steve to his feet. One misplaced fist caught Jasons jaw and caused him to fall backward, blood pouring out of his lip.

"Stop it!" Grant yelled.

Todd and Steve looked at Grant, shocked at the smaller mans yell. This gave Dave enough time to push Todd on to the couch and hold him so he couldn't move.

"Listen you scum bag. If you come anywhere near Kris ever again you won't just deal with Steve, you will deal with all of us. Kris has a lot of friends that would do anything for her. Remember that." as Dave spoke the last word Todd's leg made contact with a particularly sensitive part of the male anatomy and sent Dave to the floor.

"Everyone better get the hell out of my house now, before I call the fucking cops." Todd said.

Jason pulled Dave to his feet and ushered the other two men out of the house. They made it back to the cars, Dave still doubled over and managed to safely drive away. On the way to drop Grant off at his house, Jason looked over at him.

"What the hell? We all got beat up bad and you don't have a single scratch on you. I might have to punch you just to feel better about all this." Jason said.

"We still accomplished something." Grant said.

"What's that?"

"I've never seen Todd look that scared."

TBC...

R&R


	7. Chapter 7

Name: Help  
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine,  
A/N: Last chapter. Might write a follow up fic if someone requests it. If not, well, it'll still be a maybe...

Kristen was still up when Jason got home. When she saw his face she was shocked.

"What happened to just talking to to Todd?" she asked as she ran a dish towel under cold water.

"We tried that. Then Steve took matter into his own hands..." Kristen cut him off.

"You know what Jason, then it should have been Steve that got hurt. You had no reason to get punched in the face."

"Kris, I can't just stand their while one of my men gets the shit kicked out of him. Everyone is fine, by the way. Grant didn't get a single scratch. Steve stopped bleeding after about fifteen minutes, his nose might be broke though. Dave was going to try and get him to see a doctor. And Dave, well he only got a swift kick to the nuts so I'm pretty sure he's ok. He might have trouble having kids though." Jason pressed the towel to his jaw and winced.

"I don't care about the rest of the team, Jay. I care about you. Kris was so worried when you guys left. She locked herself in Sammie's room and didn't even eat dinner."

The now bickering couple heard a noise and looked to see Kris standing in the corner. She was looking at Jason and her hands were cupped over her mouth.

"Oh my god. Jason I'm so so sorry! Are you ok? I didn't want any of you to get hurt. Is everyone ok? Is Steve ok?" Kris asked as she took a seat next to Jason.

"Yeah. Nothing serious." Jason said.

"I'm so sorry." Kris said.

"Don't worry Krissie." For the first time Kris didn't object to the nickname. She threw her arms around Jason crying and saying 'Thank you' repeatedly. Jason hugged her back.

"Go get some sleep. We're going to need help unpacking the vans tomorrow. And trust me, Todd won't bother you again."  
*Help*  
Kris slept like a baby that night. It was the first night in a long time that she didn't have a nightmare. She and Jason went to TAPS around noon. Grant and Dave were already there Steve, on the other hand, wasn't.

"Where's Steve?" Kris asked.

"He's still asleep. I crashed at his place last night. He was up a lot with a nose bleed. So once he was finally asleep I just let him stay that way." Dave explained.

Kris nodded and gave Dave a hug. She then proceeded to hug Grant and then Jason again. It took them only around fifteen minutes to unpack the van. They all sat around in the office Jay and Grant shared. Five minutes into Jason's story about how pitiful Dave looked when Todd kicked him, Steve walked in.

Kris almost burst into tears. His nose was mainly one big bruise. His tattoos covering his arms were obscured by purple and blue bruises starting to form. His eyes were puffy and she could tell he had had a hard time sleeping. Kris jumped up and ran toward him. She softly gave him a hug and looked up at him.

"Thank you." she said.

"No thanks needed." he said back.

Kris smiled and, before she knew what she was doing, she had her lips pressed firmly against Steve's. To her surprise, Steve kissed her back. For a couple wonderful moments it seemed like the rest of the team was sitting behind them with their jaws dropped to the ground. For a little while it was just Kris and Steve. Once the kiss broke, Kris heard Grant say, "Should we change the rule about inter-office relationships?"

FIN!

R&R


End file.
